Protectors
by Mia Vaan
Summary: While spreading fun in Metro City, Jack spots a small boy with blue skin getting picked on. From then on he vows to protect the little boy with the help of his fellow Guardians, a former enemy and two local girls, while they uncover a conspiracy which runs deeper than any of them thought it would.
1. Chapter One: Jack Meets Teal

So...um...hi. Writing something _Megamind_ related in like...forever. Miss me?

First crossover fic, then. Came to me after watching _Rise of the Guardians_ (best film ever, btw). I was thinking about how the Guardians protect the kids and all, which made me wonder if they protect kids from things on a smaller scale (abuse, neglect, etc.). The thought reminded me of poor little Megs...and I realized that if the Guardians existed in his story universe, they would _not_ let all that stuff happen to him. No way. End of story.

And thus, this story was born.

It's an AU (no surprise there) and set after the RotG movie, but during Megamind's childhood. So I've basically put little Megs in the modern day. Oh, and in this story, I've named Megs 'Teal'. Because I felt it fit.

And an important note for all you Wayne fans out there...even though Wayne is a brat at the moment,_ that doesn't mean he'll stay this way_. You'll see as the story goes on.

So...that's it, really. Don't have much else to say other than review away! Oh, and please take a look at my other RotG fic, _Guardian of Light_.

Disclaimer: I don't own _Megamind_ or _Rise of the Guardians_. Both belong to Dreamworks.

* * *

Jack Frost walked along the power lines high above Metro City, his hood up and his staff resting upon his shoulder. His blue eyes scanned the city, admiring his work. "Not bad."

Snow was covering the sidewalks and ice had been painted upon the roads, causing chaos for the adults trying to get to work. But it was a snow day, Jack reasoned. That meant no work and no school. Snow meant fun.

He smiled, thinking back to what had happened months before; how he had become an official Guardian and had found his center.

_Speaking of which...time to find some kids_. Jack removed his hood and took flight, scanning the city for children to spread his fun to.

* * *

"Don't forget your special hat, darling."

"_Mum_." Teal groaned in annoyance as his mother placed the stretchy hat over his large blue head, covering it up unlike any hat ever could. It was green to match his eyes, and was also the same colour as his scarf and gloves.

Andrea smiled down at her adopted son before kissing him on the forehead. "Stay warm. And make sure Jack Frost doesn't nip at your nose."

"Who's Jack Frost?" asked Teal in confusion. "And why would he nip at people's noses? Shouldn't he be told off for it?"

There was a chuckle behind Andrea before Teal's adoptive father, John Warden, appeared. He held a small bowl in his arms which contained a green fish with wide eyes and sharp teeth. "It's just an expression, Teal. Now go have some fun. Maybe try and make a few friends this time."

"Why bother?" said Teal. He looked down sadly. "No one wants to play with me."

"Maybe they just don't know how to ask you," the fish spoke up.

Teal sighed. "I wish I can take you with me, Minion."

"But I'll freeze," said the fish. "It's the first snow day of winter. Go have some fun."

"I'll try." The nine year old grabbed his sketch book from the kitchen worktop before hurrying over to the door, entering the cold outside.

The brunette woman sighed. "I just don't know what to do about him, John. It would be a lot easier if the Scotts' kid didn't pick on him."

"I know." After carefully putting Minion down, John placed reassuring hands upon his wife's shoulders and rubbed her gently.

Minion watched the couple before his eyes turned to the door which his charge had disappeared through. With all his heart he wished for the boy to be given a friend – or, even more appropriate, a Guardian.

* * *

Teal held his sketch book close to him as he scribbled his drawings on the page; he was sketching blueprints for the best igloo ever, which he planned to build himself. _Hopefully this will get the other kids to play with me_.

In the distance he heard the laughter and cheering of other children and looked up; a small group of them were having a snowball fight in the distance. He recognized them from his class. A boy with messy, sandy coloured hair; the African-American twins, a boy and a girl; a girl with mousy brown hair; a boy with dark brown hair; and a girl with jet black hair. Nearby very young children were making snow angels, looking about three years of age; a girl with sandy coloured hair, a girl with blonde hair, and a boy with brown hair and glasses.

The blue boy smiled at the scene; he badly wanted to join in, but knew they wouldn't let him – unless he impressed them. _That's why this igloo has to work_. He turned to walk away and get to work...

...and collided into someone. He looked up to see who it was, and his green eyes widened at the tall, muscled boy standing before him.

"That's right," said Wayne Scott. "You leave those kids alone." Behind him were his followers. A chubby, ginger kid with hundreds of freckles named Hal, four other boys named Joey, Sam, Nick and Cameron, and then a blonde girl named Jo. They were all glaring at Teal.

Teal ducked his head low and walked past them, hoping they wouldn't give him any trouble if he just left.

But then Nick grabbed his sketch book and took a look. "You're gonna build an igloo? How can one puny kid like you build something like this?"

"You can barely lift _anything_ with those noodle arms," said Cameron.

The blue boy tried to snatch the book back. "I can try! I know I can!"

Wayne then took the sketch book and hovered in the air out of reach, and Teal tried to jump in order to get it back. "And you've drawn other kids inside it. What are you trying to do, freak? Brainwash them with this? Lock them up and hold them prisoner?"

"No! I would never do that!" Teal protested, still trying to jump up for his sketch book. "I only want to make friends!"

"That's a lie!" Wayne yelled back. "My father says you're nothing but bad news! You want to brainwash kids to do bad things!" He landed again and shoved the sketch book into the boy's chest, before repeatedly shoving him back further. "You're bad, and you'll always be bad! And it's my job to keep you in line!"

With one final shove, Wayne sent Teal falling into a large pile of snow, and the boy cried out from the shock of the cold.

"Let's bury him!" Hal proclaimed. He and the other four boys began to circle Teal, while Wayne and Jo watched with smirks upon their faces.

What neither of them counted on was an unseen force behind them; an older boy playing with the other kids, who had been watching the entire scene in shock. Jack had been surprised to see a kid with blue skin, but this had grown into anger and horror when he witnessed the other kids picking on him. It barely registered that the lead boy could fly; Jack knew he had to get this blue kid away from the bullies.

He flew over them and created a snowball in his hands, before throwing it at the lead boy.

The snowball hit the boy in the face...but unlike the many times he'd done this before, there was no blue magic. Instead Wayne turned around angrily, looking for the culprit. "Who threw that?!" The other kids held up their hands in defence.

Jack blinked in surprise. "It didn't work?" But there was no time to ponder this; the kids were distracted, and it was a perfect time to get Teal out of there.

Teal seemed to have the same idea; he picked himself up and ran, and noticing a sled in his path, Jack created a sheet of ice below his feet. Teal slipped up and fell on the sled, and another sheet of ice caused him to whiz away at top speed. He cried out as Jack created a path for him.

That was when the bullies noticed him gone. "He's getting away!" Sam cried out.

"Oh no he doesn't." Wayne took to the air and gave chase, gaining on Teal within seconds.

Jack looked over his shoulder and noticed the flying boy. _He can __fly?!__ How did that happen?!_ Again, he knew there was no time to ponder this, and began to steer Teal through the busy streets in a series of zig-zags, hoping to throw off Wayne.

It partly worked; Wayne continued to chase them, but it was obvious to Jack that the boy wasn't used to flying. He kept on bumping into things, leaving dents in walls, cars and the pavement itself.

People cried out in shock as they got out of the way of the chase, and cars swerved on the icy roads in an attempt not to hit the boys. Jack decided to use this to his advantage. "Wind! Slow him down!" The wind obeyed, and a huge gust was sent back at Wayne. The boy didn't expect the force and was sent flying backwards, his arms covering his eyes.

Jack had timed this right so they were on the road, and seeing an oncoming truck, he steered Teal down another road. When Wayne removed his arms his eyes widened at the sight of the truck, and he quickly flew out of the way. He gained control over his flight soon afterwards...only to find that Teal had gone.

Looking behind him, Jack saw that Wayne was no longer chasing them. "Show's over, kid." He created an ice ramp which sent Teal hurtling into a large pile of snow, and the boy landed safely without a scratch. Jack then landed up on a telephone pole, leaning against it.

Teal picked himself up, and after checking to make sure his sketch book survived the trip – it had – he looked around, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

The ice path had just...appeared before him as if it was being created out of thin air. Teal had a large brain which he could use for many different things...but he couldn't comprehend what had just happened. It was scientifically impossible.

"I don't know how that happened," he said to himself, "but I'm gonna find out what caused that." He hurried away, determined to get home and start work on his research.

Jack smiled, watching the boy hurry away. _Stay safe, kid_. From what he'd heard of the conversation, he realized that hadn't been the first time the boy had been picked on – meaning that it wouldn't be the last, either.

_There must be a way to stop this permanently_, he thought. _I wonder if the others know about this kid. They must do_. With that thought in mind, he took to the air. "Wind, take me to the North Pole!"

It obeyed.


	2. Chapter Two: Appointing Guardians

Thank you to those who have reviewed so far.

OK, as you'll notice in this chapter, Pitch is actually quite likable in this story. There's a reason for this.

Quite a few people have agreed that Pitch isn't an outright bad guy, and I agree with this theory. In the _Guardians of Childhood_ books, Pitch used to be a hero who guarded a prison of fearlings and shadows. But Pitch also had a daughter, who he loved dearly, and wanted to see her after so long. The fearlings and shadows took advantage of this and called to him in his daughter's voice; thinking she was trapped inside, Pitch opened the door...and was overwhelmed by the fearlings, which turned him into what he is presently.

I have a prediction as to what will happen in the next book, in order to fit in with the film. In the second book, Pitch was defeated by the Guardians when they showed him a picture of his daughter (who he had apparently forgotten about, but not purposely). In the third book, Pitch's daughter appears - revealing to have become Mother Nature. The book is left on a cliffhanger, but in the next one, I think Pitch might somehow decide to use his powers of darkness to teach children valuable lessons (kind of like what our parents do sometimes; teaching us things for our own good).

This could lead into the Dark Ages, where Pitch seems to enjoy his job a little too much - which results in the Man in the Moon finally giving the Guardians their jobs (they don't have them officially in the books) and pushing Pitch back. Of course, now not being believed in and wanting to, Pitch planned his revenge. Having failed and learnt his lesson, he's going back to his job - as we'll see here.

Other stories which discuss this theory of Pitch are _The Job_ and _Nightmares_.

Anyway, now that's out the way, I hope you enjoy!

* * *

North paced back and forwards, a pointer in his hand. Behind him was a blackboard filled with chalk drawings and diagrams; there were of children feeling fear, and then getting over their fears and learning from them. In the corner of the blackboard two elves were doodling small pictures of themselves, but North was too focussed on the lesson to notice them.

He tapped the pointer in his hand. "So, to recap, your nightmares are only supposed to _show_ the child their fear, and not in a way that will scar them for life. Just enough so they can overcome it, and learn from it. Am I clear?"

Before him, Pitch was sat hunched over in a school desk, his knees bent out to the sides while his arms were trapped between himself and the desk, dangling down uselessly. He didn't look impressed by the lesson. "I know this. You don't have to keep reminding me."

"I obviously do, considering you ignored your job and tried to wipe us all out," North said back.

There was a snigger in the background, and Pitch turned to glare at Bunny; the Pooka was leaning against one of the pillars next to the fireplace, watching the lesson with amusement.

A yeti appeared next to North, showing him a yellow toy train. North turned to it and shook his head. "Paint it red." The yeti made a noise of disbelief, gestured towards an entire cart of the trains – all yellow – which he had pulled behind him, before throwing his arms in the air and striding away again, pulling the cart with him.

North flipped the blackboard over – sending the two elves who were doodling flying across the room – and showed Pitch the illustrations of scales with weights on either side, showing a balance. "There must be a balance, and it's our job to keep it. Too much fear, and the children will not learn. Not enough fear, and the children _will not learn_."

"I _know_." Pitch rolled his eyes. "Why are you going over this _again_ and _again_...?"

"Manny told me to." North gestured to the moon, which could be seen peering down at them from outside. "He wants to make sure you don't try and take over again. He's very protective over the children of Earth. As we all are."

At that moment there was a gust of wind, and from the open roof Jack flew in, bringing snow with him; the two elves who had finally picked themselves up were sent flying again, their hats twisting and covering their faces.

"North, I need to talk-" Jack then noticed Pitch, and covered his mouth with a hand to try and hold back his laughter.

Pitch glared at the boy. "Not one word out of you, Frost."

Jack just slung his staff onto his shoulder and went to lean against the same pillar as Bunny. "Oh, I really wish I had a camera." Bunny chuckled as well, and the two fist-bumped.

"Jack," North began, dropping his pointer and placing his hands on his hips, "I'm busy enough as it is, what with Christmas just around the corner and having to reteach Pitch his duty. Is it really this important?"

"Yes, it is," said Jack. He walked over to North. "There's this kid who needs help. _Really_ needs it. He lives in Metro City, Michigan."

"Is it the blue kid, Teal Warden?"

Jack blinked in surprise. "You know about him?"

"Who doesn't?" Bunny spoke up. "He's not very hard to miss, mate. No offence to him, of course."

"So full of fear, as well." The other Guardians turned to Pitch, who was able to hold his dangling hands up a small way in defence. "What? I may have been hiding under beds for centuries plotting my revenge, but that doesn't mean I didn't keep track of what was happening up here."

Jack turned back to North. "So you know he needs help?"

"There's only so much we can do, Jack," North explained. "I give him presents which help him."

"I give him the easiest egg hunts," Bunny added. "Tooth gives him special gifts whenever a tooth falls out, and Sandy gives him those inspiring dreams to keep his innocence alive."

"And I left him alone." Pitch shrugged. "His life is bad enough as it is; even _I_ won't make it more miserable."

"So where did he come from?" asked Jack. "I mean...how did he...you know..."

"He came from another planet," North explained. "We don't know the exact details, but something happened to his planet and he was sent here to Earth by his parents. He landed in a prison yard in Metro City where he was adopted by the head warden and his wife."

Bunny sighed. "He wasn't the only alien to arrive."

His comment made Jack remember the flying boy who had been picking on Teal. "There was another kid. He could fly...he was strong...and my magic didn't affect him."

"Wayne Scott," said North. He sighed, looking at his 'Naughty' tattoo. "He holds so much power – flight, speed, strength, invulnerability – and yet he uses them to do bad things." He glared at Pitch, who once again raised his hands a little way in defence. "He came from another planet as well, most likely in the same system as Teal's; he landed in the manor of Lord and Lady Scott."

"They spoil him rotten," said Bunny. "He's such a little brat, it's unreal."

Jack looked between them in confusion. "Then why not give him coal, or whatever it is you do? It might make him realize he's being, well, a "naughty" boy."

"I don't give coal, Jack," North explained. "That would be cruel. No, for the naughty children, I give them a gift which will make them realize what they're doing wrong and help mend their ways. I've been doing this with the boy – but since he gets mountains of gifts anyway, he doesn't pay attention to mine; he just chucks it away and plays with his other toys."

Jack looked away, thinking. He remembered the scared, green eyes of the boy and knew he couldn't just stand around and do nothing. There had to be _something_ he could do to help.

"Why don't I give it a go?" he suggested. "With Teal, I mean. I can figure something out."

"You _are_ Guardian now," said North. He shrugged.

"And while we're on the subject," Bunny walked over to Pitch and gestured to him with his thumb, "why not let spook here deal with Wayne? He might have better luck with him. I may not approve of his methods, but they could work with this one."

Pitch raised an eyebrow in Bunny's direction. "And why would I do this favour for you all?"

"Because if you do, it proves you've re-learnt everything and don't have to sit here anymore." North shrugged.

Pitch sighed. "Fine. I'll see what I can do."

* * *

When Andrea walked into her son's bedroom to check if he was asleep, she found him sat up under the covers with his torch switched on. She shook her head; this wasn't the first time she'd caught him like this, and she couldn't really tell him off for it. From what she'd observed, the boy's race sometimes got ideas in the middle of the night and had to write them down immediately.

She walked over to the bed and pulled off the covers, revealing the boy and his fish huddled round the sketch book.

Teal immediately sat up. "I'm sorry! I was just..." He gestured to the book.

"He's still trying to figure out what happened today," Minion explained.

Andrea sat down and took a look; Teal had sketched a picture of himself on the sled, soaring through the streets on the sheet of ice which kept on magically appearing in front of him, or so Teal had claimed. Around the drawing, the boy was writing down and sketching out theories on what could have happened.

"I've already crossed out an ice making device on the bottom of the sled," Teal explained. "It's too complex for anyone other than me to create – and I know _I_ haven't made one. I also thought it could be liquid nitrogen, but the question is: where would it come from?" He held his hands to his head. "Oh, I don't know! It's all logically impossible!"

"The only thing that's impossible is impossibility." Andrea brought a hand up to her son's bald head and stroked it gently, calming him down. "Maybe instead of looking at possible ways, look at the _impossible_ ways and see where that takes you." She placed a kiss on his head. "But do it in the morning. Right now you need some sleep."

Teal sighed. "OK." He placed his sketch book, pencil and torch on his bedside table before snuggling under the covers, pulling Minion's ball close to his chest. Andrea tucked him in before giving him another kiss, and then she left the room.

"Impossibility..." Teal stared out his bedroom window through the gap in the curtains, where he could see the full moon shining down upon him. As his eyes drifted closed, he could almost swear that the moon was smiling at him.


	3. Chapter Three: More Meetings

So...

In this chapter we're introduced to an OC. Not one who's familiar in my Megamind stories; she's new. I felt I needed her in the story, because in my first draft something just...wasn't working. When I added her, everything worked fine. You'll see as the story goes on.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy and don't forget to leave a review!

* * *

"Looks like Jack Frost has been out and about, Rox," said Rikki Ritchi, nodding over to the window as she finally unpacked her last box. It had taken days to get things organized in her new room. "Fancy going out later?"

Her nine year old sister, Roxanne, shrugged. "Sure. Mum says for me to make some new friends, anyway. But she told me to look out for a boy named 'Wayne Scott', or something like that."

"You mean the son of that Lord?" Rikki almost rolled her eyes; of course their mother would want Roxanne to hang out with that kid. They'd only just moved to the city, and already their mother was planning out their lives. "From what I heard, he's a brat. Just make your own friends."

"I know. I'm going to," said Roxanne. "Daddy says a friend of his has a son my age. He said he'll take me round one day this week." After a thought, she added, "Are you going to make friends here? You didn't have any back in Lansing."

The sixteen-year-old ruffled up her sister's hair with a smile on her face. "Sure I will, sis. But only after _you_ make a friend first. OK?"

"Deal." Roxanne held out her pinky finger, and Rikki used her own to link them together.

At that moment their mother, Rhonda, entered the room. She had a purse in hand. "Rikki, your father and I are going out. We need a new couch for the living room."

"What's wrong with the old one?" asked the girl.

"It doesn't match the walls," said Rhonda.

Her husband, Rowan, came in behind her. "Or in other words, your mother's just being fussy."

Rhonda shot him a glare, and he held up his hands in defence. "I need you to keep an eye on Roxanne," the woman continued to Rikki. "I was thinking you could take her out and find some kids for her to play with; you can find the Scott boy and they can get to know each other."

"Mum, you can't force her to like someone," Rikki pointed out.

"Especially that brat," Rowan agreed.

Rhonda shot him another glare. "Wayne's a good kid. It will be practical to have relations with Lord and Lady Scott, anyway." She left the room.

Rowan walked up to his eldest daughter and leaned in, making sure Rhonda couldn't hear him. "Take her out anyway, but look out for John's kid."

Rikki nodded. She had met John Warden a few times before, but it had been enough for her to conclude that any kid of his would be worth knowing. "What does he look like?"

A bizarre look crossed Rowan's face as he leaned out again and turned to go. "Let's just say he stands out in a crowd."

After he left the room the two sisters exchanged confused glances. "What does he mean by that?" Roxanne asked.

"I'm not sure," said Rikki. "But I have a feeling we'll be finding out soon enough."

* * *

Jack soared over Metro City until he spotted Teal, and landed on the roof of a building. He watched as the boy passed below, reading a book about freak blizzards; Jack couldn't help but wonder if this interest was to do with the previous day's incident.

_But what to do?_ It was obvious that the boy couldn't see him. This didn't bother Jack; he didn't have many believers across the globe, although they were growing by the day. _I could get him to believe in me? Then he won't be alone. But until then..._

Scanning the area, he saw two girls on the same sidewalk, heading in Teal's direction. One was in her teenage years, about fifteen or sixteen, with long brown hair and blue eyes. The younger girl was like a miniature version of her sister, only her hair was shorter; she looked around nine – the same age as Teal.

Jack smiled. She looked like the perfect candidate for a friend, and the boy hadn't seen her the day before. He flew closer in order to listen, coming up behind them.

"I was only a baby when we were last here," the older girl was saying. "Of course I don't recognize anything. I'm glad we're back, though. Dad says Metro City is a lot nicer than Lansing."

"Seems nicer," said the younger. "I just hope I can make friends here."

Jack raised an eyebrow. _New here, huh? Wanting to make friends? Coming right up_.

* * *

Teal kept his eyes focussed on the words he was reading, his photographic memory showing him the way along the path and his other senses able to tell him if someone was coming.

But what his senses didn't warn him about was the sudden gust of wind which swept Teal's book right out of his hands, and it flapped in the air above him.

"Hey!" He tried jumping for it, and gave chase as it flew along the sidewalk at a fast pace. "Why does this always happen to me? Why can't something good happen for once?"

The book suddenly collided into someone, landing on the person's head and hiding their face. From the height, Teal could tell it was someone his age, and hoped that it wasn't one of Wayne's gang.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-" Teal cut himself off when the person removed the book.

It was a girl he'd never seen before...and already she had him captivated. Her brown hair was short and spunky, and her blue eyes sparkled in a way which made them look magical, like the stars in the midnight sky. _Wow...she's...she's..._

He wanted to say something nice to her, and when he opened his mouth, all that came out was, "You're very pretty." He cringed inwardly, knowing it wasn't something he should say on a first meeting.

The girl finally looked up at him, and Teal expected her to scream and run like a lot of the other kids did when they first met him. But instead she blinked in surprise, looked him up and down, before looking down at his book and handing it back to him. "Is this yours?"

Teal's eyes widened. "Yes, but...you're not scared of me?"

She tilted her head to the side with confusion. "Why would I be scared of you? You don't look scary."

"Well, I'm blue," Teal explained, gesturing to himself as if it was obvious. "And I have a big head."

"So?" The girl still looked confused. "That makes you unique. And there's nothing wrong with being unique."

"Really?" Teal had never heard anyone call him 'unique' before. A freak, an alien and sometimes even a monster; but never unique. It was a pleasant surprise...and it gave him a warm feeling deep down inside him. "That's the first time someone's said anything nice about me."

The girl smiled at him before holding out her hand. "I'm Roxanne. Roxanne Ritchi."

Teal looked at it for a moment, hesitated...then he met her hand with his own and shook it. "Teal. Teal Warden."

"Warden?" Roxanne questioned. "I think my daddy knows your daddy. My daddy said to look out for you, and that you wouldn't be hard to spot. I can see what he meant now."

Teal looked down and realized she hadn't let go of his hand. It made his cheeks turn violet in colour. "Yeah. You get used to it."

Still not letting go of his hand, Roxanne looked down at the book he was holding. "So, what are you reading?"

"Oh!" Teal pulled his hand away reluctantly and opened the book up, showing her. "You see, this incident happened yesterday..."

* * *

Standing not far away, Jack smiled as the two children began to talk enthusiastically, especially Teal. The boy's green eyes were lit up like a Christmas tree; he finally had someone his age he could talk to and call a friend. The girl wasn't bothered by his looks at all.

_Not bad, if I do say so myself_, he thought.

"Matchmaker, huh? I thought Cupid was an angel with a little bow and arrow?"

"Actually, I'm Jack Frost," said Jack. Then his eyes widened when it registered, and he swung round to see who had spoken to him.

It was the girl's older sister. Her arms were folded across her front – and she was _staring right at him_.


	4. Chapter Four: Progress

Thank you to those who have reviewed. Here's the next chapter.

I did expect people to be weary of my OC, but please give her a chance. At least she's not one of those snowflake Mary-Sues which have been drowning the other stories in the RotG section. ;D

Don't forget to leave a review!

* * *

"You...you can see me?"

"Yeah," said Rikki. She looked the boy who had appeared out of nowhere up and down. _So that's what Jack Frost looks like...he's actually kinda cute..._ She quickly pushed down those thoughts. "Why wouldn't I be able to?"

The boy blinked in surprise. "Because not many people believe in my. If people don't believe in me, they can't see me. Surprised it still works like that now I'm a Guardian. Although my powers have been getting stronger..."

"Of course I can see you," Rikki told him. "My dad told me and my sister all about you. He told us about all of you. I think he met the Easter Bunny when he was a kid..." She looked away, deep in thought, before shrugging and turning back to him. "Anyway, I'm Rikki. Rikki Ritchi. And that's my sister, Roxanne."

"Jack." He saluted. "So she can see me as well?"

"Maybe." Rikki shrugged again. "But she's a little distracted at the moment." The girl looked over at her sister talking to the blue boy with enthusiasm. She would have been lying if she'd said that his appearance hadn't surprised her. But the innocence in his eyes had assured her that he was harmless, and Roxanne had taken to him very quickly; then when she heard his name, Rikki smiled. _Trust one of Dad's friends to adopt a kid like him_.

She then noticed Jack watching the two kids as well. "So what was with that act you pulled, anyway?"

"Oh, I can explain," he began. "You see, I'm a Guardian. Along with Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman... You know what I'm talking about. Anyway, it's our job to protect kids; to help them." He pointed to the boy. "I saw him getting bullied the other day, and I've made it my goal to help him. So I thought to start with, I'll give him a friend. Then I saw your sister, heard she was new and also looking for a friend, and there. Friendship made."

Rikki looked at the boy. She could understand why other kids would pick on him, but it made her angry that this innocent little boy had no friends to play with, or even talk to. "So pretty much all the kids in the area pick on him?"

"Well, I wouldn't say _all_ of them," said Jack. "I think some of them just...don't know how to approach him. There was a small group picking on him yesterday, led by this other kid with...powers. I can't remember his name now...uh...Scott Wayne, or something like that..."

"Wayne Scott?" Jack nodded. "Ugh, I knew he was a brat. I've heard things about him; either people sing his praises or shake their heads. And I think the first lot are just scared of the influence his parents hold." She shook her head. "I can't believe Mum wanted Roxanne to hang out with that kid. Actually, I _can_ believe it; it's something she'd do for her image."

Rikki then looked over at the blue boy with worry; she knew that if her mother ever found out about him – and that Roxanne was friends with him – she would erupt like a volcano.

Jack noticed her expression, and connecting the dots, he asked, "You think you can take care of that? I mean, making sure your mother doesn't find out..."

"I'll try," she said. "I'm sure Dad will get in on it as well. He knows the kid's father, if I heard his name correctly."

"Teal Warden."

"Yeah, my dad knows his dad." She nodded. "I'll see what I can do. And if Mum makes a wrong move towards Roxanne or her new friend, I'll turn into a Knight Templar Big Sister. And Mum knows what happens when I turn into one of those – _bad_ things happen."

Jack laughed. "I'll make sure I'm not around when that happens. I've seen what a big sibling can do; a kid I know back in my hometown once beat a guy twice his size when that guy was stupid enough to pick on the kid's little sister. Didn't end well for him."

This time Rikki laughed.

* * *

When Jack arrived back at the Pole, Tooth was there. She was commanding her fairies across the globe, and when she saw Jack, she flew up to him. "Hi, Jack! I came as soon as I heard!"

Jack blinked in surprise. "Heard about what?"

"Your first official assignment!" She squealed with excitement. "I've heard all about little Teal Warden. Such an adorable little boy! His teeth are _so white_, aren't they?"

"Um...I guess?" Jack just shrugged; in truth, he hadn't been able to catch a glimpse of the boy's teeth.

North noticed the commotion and strode over. "Back so soon, Jack?" he asked.

"Yeah. I thought I might fill you in on my progress," he said.

The man's eyebrows raised in surprise. "You've made progress _already_?"

"Yep." He leaned against one of the pillars. The boy felt like gloating just for the sake of it...but considering the subject, he decided against it. "I was able to help him make a friend. There was a girl who'd just moved to the city; she wasn't afraid of him, and didn't think he was weird or scary at all. I think her name was Roxanne Ritchi."

"Ah yes, I remember her," said North. "Nice List. Never moved once."

"She's the sweetest girl," said Tooth. "And so very plucky, as well. And her teeth are so sparkly!"

Jack couldn't help but smile. "And I made a friend of my own," he added, the smile on his face growing wider at the thought of his long-time believer. "Roxanne's sister, Rikki."

"Her teeth are even more sparkly!" Tooth fluttered in excitement. "She's the best flosser I've seen in years!"

"An older believer." North nodded. "We get them. They've usually encountered us in the past."

"I think she said her dad had an encounter with Bunny."

"Ugh. He still remembers that?" The trio turned to see Bunny, who had appeared out of a hole in the floor. "It was so embarrassing."

Jack raised an eyebrow, a smirk crossing the length of his face. "Embarrassing? How?"

"Like I'm gonna tell _you_, mate." He shook his head. "I came to check on your progress."

"I got him to make a friend."

"Not bad."

"And speaking of progress..." Jack turned back to North, "what about...um...Pitch?"

North shook his head. "Haven't heard from him."

"Ugh." Tooth sighed. "He probably _said_ he'd do that and used it as an excuse to disappear."

"Now, hold on." Bunny held up his paws. "OK, I know Pitch tried to wipe us out and tried to plunge the world into eternal darkness, but he does his job, and he does it _well_. _Too_ well, sometimes. He wouldn't pass up an opportunity like this."

"Then if he's that good, why hasn't he made progress yet like I have?" Jack asked.

Bunny rolled his eyes. "Mate, this is the guy who waited for centuries to take his revenge on us. He's patient. He likes to take his time. And that's why he does a good job."

* * *

Pitch had been watching the dinner for some time, and still neither member of the family had spoken a word. It didn't surprise him; they were upper class. They usually didn't speak.

Lord and Lady Scott were sat either end of the table, while Wayne was sat in the middle. The boy who – most of the time – looked intimidating, didn't look anything of the sort in the company of his parents; he looked small and uncertain, silently eating his dinner and not daring to look up at either of them. _Curious_, Pitch thought.

Finally Lord Scott placed his knife and fork on his plate and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "So tell me, son. Did you see your enemy today?"

"Not today, Father," said Wayne. Even when spoken to, he only glanced up at his father once before looking at his plate again. "He kept his distance."

His father nodded. "You make sure you straighten him out again the next time you see him. He'll never learn unless you keep doing it. This boy is bad; always has been, always will be. All people who look different are bad people. Remember that."

Pitch frowned. If there was one thing he knew, it was that the little blue boy was anything _but_ bad. He knew bad, and the little kid wasn't it. This Lord Scott, on the other hand...

Lady Scott placed her own knife and fork on the plate in front of her. "Andrew, are you really sure-?"

"Sure of what?" Lord Scott sent his wife a look. "Sure of what's best for our son?"

The woman looked down and didn't say anymore.

Pitch continued to watch, sensing the fear in the room coming from both Lady Scott _and_ Wayne. He had only been observing them for a meal, and already pieces of a larger puzzle were beginning to fit together.


	5. Chapter Five: Fun Times

I really don't know what to say.

A thousand apologies, a thousand sorrys... They can't really make up for it, can they?

I don't want to make excuses, but...university, writer's block, family, real life in general... Just a lot of stuff which prevented this story from getting updated. But I've made it my goal to finish this story before the end of the month, and hopefully (fingers crossed and touch wood) nothing will get in the way of that.

I hope you all forgive me for the long wait, enjoy the chapter, and don't forget to review.

* * *

Rikki was leading Roxanne towards the Metro City park when Jack appeared before them. Rikki only smirked while Roxanne's eyes widened with wonder. "Wow! You were right, Rikki! He's here!"

Jack's smile widened. Yet another kid believed in him.

"We're meeting Teal at the park," Rikki explained to the young Guardian. "Care to join us?"

"I was going to, anyway." He shrugged. "Just to keep an eye on things." They started walking again, and Jack floated along beside them. "I also thought we could get the other kids to try and play with him. I mean, the ones who don't pick on him."

Roxanne's eyes lit up. "I could try. If the other kids see me playing with him, they'll see that he's not bad and come and play, too!"

Jack chuckled. "She's a smart kid."

"Wise beyond her years," Rikki agreed. She ruffled up her sister's hair, and the younger Ritchi battered her hands away. "She has my smarts, our dad's kindness – and none of our mother."

They arrived at the park, and to everyone's relief, there was no sign of Wayne Scott and his group of friends. Instead Jack saw the group of kids he'd been playing with the other day – even though they couldn't see him. They were all making snow angels (apart from the sandy-haired boy, who was just standing around doing nothing).

Teal hadn't arrived yet, but that didn't matter. "Hey, Rox, why don't you go make friends with the other kids first?" Rikki suggested. "Then you can introduce them to Teal."

Roxanne shrugged before wandering over to the group of kids, and Rikki and Jack remained behind in order to watch.

One of the African-American twins – the girl – spotted her first, and walked over to meet her with a friendly smile upon her face. "Hi. You new around here?"

"Yeah. I'm Roxanne," Roxanne greeted.

"Tianna," the girl replied back. Behind her the other kids approached. "And this is my brother, Terry," She pointed to her twin, "and this is Bernard," She pointed to the sandy haired boy, "that's Shelley," She pointed to the mousy-brown haired girl, "and they're Chris and Stacy." She finally pointed to the boy with dark brown hair and the girl with jet black hair.

"Nice to meet you all," said Roxanne.

"Do you want to join us?" asked Terry.

Roxanne nodded. "I'm also waiting for someone. Can he join in, too?"

Tianna shrugged. "If he wants."

At that moment Teal arrived, carrying his sketch book like usual. But instead of scribbling in it, the book was held casually under his arm as his green eyes scanned the area for Roxanne. He greeted Rikki politely...before passing right through Jack.

Rikki took a step back from the shock. "So...that's what happens when people don't believe in you?"

"Yeah."

The older girl didn't know what to say. "That's horrible."

"You get used to it."

They turned back to watch as Teal spotted Roxanne and hurried over to her. The smiles suddenly left the other kids' faces, and they took a noticeable step back when the blue boy arrived by Roxanne's side.

"You came!"

"Of course I did, silly." Roxanne gave him a hug, and Teal was caught off guard by the sudden show of emotion. His eyes widened, before he hesitantly hugged her back.

None of the other kids knew what to say. "Um...Roxanne?" Tianna spoke up. "What are you doing?"

Roxanne pulled away from Teal and met the gazes of the other children. Seeing their expressions, she knew instantly what was up. "Oh, so just because he's blue you don't want to play with him?"

"Well..." Stacy began. "Wayne says he's bad."

"Then Wayne must be lying," Roxanne said back. "Teal's the nicest boy I've ever met, and I'm going to play with him." She took Teal's hand in her own before walking away, the other children watching them go.

Jack – who had seen everything – sighed. "So much for that."

"They may just need some time," said Rikki. "They're not like Roxanne. Rox is...special. Maybe if they see how harmless he really is they'll get braver."

The boy realized she had a point. Not everything happened overnight; Teal's friendship with Roxanne was just a lucky shot.

As the two young children walked away, Roxanne saw the drawing in her friend's sketch book and tilted her head to the side in order to get a better look at it. "That looks cool."

Teal realized she was looking at his sketch of the igloo and turned it the right way up. "It was supposed to be the best igloo ever. I thought it might...help me make friends. If the other kids saw it, I mean."

"I can help you build it," Roxanne suggested.

Her friend smiled.

* * *

"...but as you can imagine, a goat isn't going to stay secret forever, and when Grandma put the washing out it butted her in the backside." Rikki laughed, as did Jack. "Dad got into _so_ much trouble for that. He had to get rid of it, but he said it was a blast."

Jack had to agree. Before he could comment on the story, though, he caught sight of an impressive feat. "Hey, check it out."

Rikki turned to look. "Whoa."

Teal and Roxanne had finished making an igloo...and it was huge. The two teens were surprised the kids had managed it on their own, until they saw a trio of three-year-olds helping them; the ones Jack had seen the other day. He remembered their names being Casey (the blonde girl), Jace (the boy with brown hair and glasses) and Amanda (the sandy haired girl).

He realized that Amanda was Bernard's little sister when the boy approached. "Amanda, I think it's time to go- Whoa." He paused and looked up at the igloo with wide eyes.

Terry came up behind him. "Bernard, what is it... Oh my gosh. Guys! Come and look at this! Quickly!"

The other kids came running, and as soon as they saw the igloo, they skidded to a halt and admired it with eyes full of wonder.

"That's amazing!"

"I didn't know anyone could build one as big as that!"

"Cool!"

Hearing these words of praise, Teal and Roxanne crawled out from inside the igloo and noticed the other kids staring. Tianna saw them first, and after connecting the dots, she slowly approached the two. "Did you make this?"

"It was mostly Teal," said Roxanne. "It was his design. I just helped him."

"Oh." Tianna looked hesitant. "I'm...sorry about earlier. It was probably mean of us." Behind her the other kids approached as well, looking hesitant. An awkward silence passed between them, and each child was unsure what to do next.

That is, until a snowball hit Tianna square in the nose.

A blue mark appeared, and seconds later she was laughing and making a snowball of her own. More snowballs were thrown, hitting each child on the nose, and soon they were all laughing and throwing snowballs at one another.

Rikki turned to Jack with a raised eyebrow. "Your doing?"

"Things needed livening up," Jack said with a shrug. "And I'm the Guardian of Fun. It's my job to spread-"

He was cut off when Rikki threw a snowball which hit him directly in the face.


	6. Chapter Six: Pressure

Here's the next chapter, which is a little more depressing than the previous one. Hope you all like it anyway.

* * *

Wayne heard the laughter using his super-hearing, and at first he ignored it. From what he could hear, it was just a group of children having fun; they didn't need protecting or saving, so he wouldn't trouble himself with checking.

That was until he heard the familiar laugh of his enemy.

He knew that tone of voice anywhere, and although odd to hear it so happy and innocent, Wayne realized that the blue kid was doing something to the other children, and he had to put a stop to it.

The boy turned to his gang, who were all sitting around doing nothing. "I hear trouble," he told them.

They all sat up to attention. "What sort of trouble?" asked Sam.

"Blue trouble; the worst kind." Wayne's face screwed up in detest. "From the sounds of things, I think he may be brainwashing the other kids. Come one, we have to save them."

The other children got to their feet before following Wayne, who hovered on ahead. The sound of laughter grew closer as they walked, and when they arrived at the park, they saw the sight Wayne had been able to hear. A group of kids were having a snowball fight, and in the centre, Teal was playing along, too.

Wayne observed an older girl playing amongst the group, and his fist clenched. _He's powerful enough to brainwash a teenager? This won't do. I have to stop him before this gets out of hand_. Then noticing a trio of three-year-olds playing around a large igloo – which matched the blue kid's sketch from before – Wayne turned to three of his members and nodded towards the structure. Sam, Nick and Cameron moved in and lifted the toddlers out of the way.

Little Amanda's protests caught the attention of the other children, who stopped playing...just as Wayne flew in and smashed the igloo to pieces.

Jack came to stand beside Rikki as they both watched the super-powered boy destroy the igloo; he couldn't believe any kid could be so mean as to do something like this...

He moved to stand in front of Teal to protect him, despite knowing it was no use; Wayne didn't believe in him, so would be able to walk right through him. Rikki seemed to realize this and planted herself in front of Teal instead, while also pulling Roxanne behind her. The older girl's eyes were lighting up like a fire, and Jack pitied anyone on the wrong end of her wrath.

The three toddlers ran away screaming from the destruction; Bernard was able to scoop his sister up in an embrace while Tianna and Stacy comforted Casey and Jace, who were both trembling from the shock. The children huddled together with Jack, Rikki, Roxanne and Teal in the centre, while Wayne's gang surrounded them.

When Wayne finished with the igloo, he hovered over to the group. "You're all being brainwashed by him; don't you see? But don't worry, I'm here to save you." He went to pluck Teal out from the centre...

...but Rikki pushed the boy further behind her and glared at Wayne. "Don't touch him, you little brat. Get off your high horse and leave these kids alone."

"He still has a sway over you. A dunk in the snow will fix that." With barely any effort he picked up Rikki by the arm and tossed her across the park; Jack couldn't prevent the throw from happening, but he was able to quickly create a snow bank for her to land in unharmed.

The other kids scattered in terror...except for Roxanne, who kept herself firmly in front of Teal in an effort to protect him. "You can't do that to my sister! And leave my friend alone!" she yelled.

Wayne turned to face her and blinked in surprise. "You're pretty. You shouldn't be hanging around with the likes of _him_." He pointed at Teal. "He's bad. Can't you see that? Or has he brainwashed you, too?"

"He hasn't brainwashed _anybody_!" Roxanne yelled back. "He's the nicest boy I've ever met! You're just a big meanie and a bully! Teal's skin may be blue and his head may be big, but that doesn't make him bad; it makes him unique and clever! Everyone else thinks so, right guys?"

She turned to the other kids...only to see that they were a good distance away, with Wayne's gang in front of them to prevent them from interfering. They looked terrified...but not of Teal. Jack noticed this too, and realized that the kids didn't play with Teal because they thought he was weird...but because they were afraid of what Wayne would do.

Roxanne seemed to realize the same thing, and her expression changed to that of hopelessness when she realized she was standing alone. But that didn't mean she was going to back down.

"Roxanne Regina Ritchi!"

The girl cringed at the familiar voice, and turned to see her mother storming towards her in a tirade. Jack landed in front of her with his staff held up at the ready...but like Teal had done before, the woman immediately passed through him. _So much for that_.

"Mum, I can explain-" Roxanne began.

"How dare you talk to Wayne in such a way!" Rhonda yelled at her daughter. "And keep away from that freak!" She pulled Roxanne away from Teal, leaving him at the mercy of Wayne. "I'm sorry for my daughter's behaviour," the woman then went on to apologize to Wayne. "I'll have her straightened out before her play-date with you." And with that she dragged Roxanne back to where the older woman had parked her car.

Wayne, satisfied that the girl had been dealt with, turned back to deal with Teal...only to find him gone.

* * *

Rikki kept the boy pressed underneath her in the snow bank until she was certain Wayne was gone. She had been unable to rescue Roxanne from their mother's wrath, so had rescued Teal from Wayne's to make up for it.

"Why does this always happen to me?" Teal began to sob once they'd climbed out of the snow bank after Wayne and his group had left, along with the other children. "Now I'll never see Roxanne again."

Rikki scoffed. "Over my dead body. I'll get you two together again; no doubt about it. And if _that woman_ tries to step in again, I'll make her regret it."

"But what about Wayne?" asked Teal. "You saw what he did."

"Oh, I have a friend who's gonna handle that. You'll see...hopefully."

* * *

Jack paced back and forwards along the roof of apartment building where the Ritchis lived, muttering to himself. Night had fallen, and he was waiting for the one he'd summoned to arrive...but the boy was beginning to grow impatient. "C'mon, you big creep. I thought you were supposed to be punctual?"

"I am. It's you who's being impatient."

The young Guardian spun around to see Pitch standing a little way off, who had raised an eyebrow in the boy's direction.

"Don't even _start_ with me," Jack warned. "I'm not in a good mood."

"Your assignment not going well?" Pitch walked towards him. "I heard you had made progress. What happened?"

"Wayne Scott happened." Jack spat the boy's name, something he never thought he'd do when speaking about a kid. "All the other kids are afraid of him – I think even members of his gang are! And if I'm going to help Teal, that needs to change!"

Pitch once again raised an eyebrow. "So why call me here?"

Jack pointed an accusing finger at him. "_You're_ the one who's supposed to be handling Wayne! Have you done anything about him yet? Or are you just saying you'll do this in order to get out of North's lessons? So you can wander free again? Do these kids mean _anything_ to you?"

The Boogeyman's face darkened. "If they didn't mean anything to me, then I wouldn't have been trying to make them believe in me." He took a few warning steps towards Jack, who backed away slightly. "It is as Bunnymund told you; I prefer to take my time with these things. If I rushed, then the job wouldn't be done properly."

"Well, you still need to hurry it up, because this concerns my sister as well."

Both Jack and Pitch turned towards the fire exit where Rikki was resting casually against the door, her arms folded across her chest, and dressed in her pyjamas. Her brown hair was a mess, revealing that she must have only just been awoken from her sleep.

The girl gave them both a confused look. "What?"


	7. Chapter Seven: Problems With Adults

So here's the next chapter.

Don't forget to review! :D

* * *

"And while I'm here, Jack, why are you working with the Boogeyman?" Rikki asked. "Isn't he supposed to be the bad guy, or something?"

"Rikki, what are you doing here?" Jack demanded.

"Your loud mutterings woke me up," said the girl. "Honestly, if it wasn't for the fact that you're pretty much invisible to everyone, you would have woken up the whole neighbourhood."

Jack's surprise at seeing her there turned into annoyance...but Pitch remained surprised by the girl's appearance. Mostly because she could see him plain as day. "You can see me?"

"Duh." She rolled her eyes. "So are you going to answer my question or not?"

"He _was_ a bad guy – well, sort of – but he's been given another chance to help kids overcome their fears and learn from them," explained Jack. The upon noticing Pitch's still surprised expression, he said, "Oh, Rikki, this is Pitch Black. Pitch, this is Rikki Ritchi; Roxanne's sister."

Rikki made her way over to them, her arms wrapped around herself in an effort to keep warm. Jack wanted to help, but knew that he wouldn't be able to; he would only make her colder.

"And going back to my earlier statement," she continued, her eyes on Pitch, "what exactly are you doing with that kid at the moment? I mean, you must have a plan, right?"

This appeared to break Pitch out of his surprise. "A vague plan, yes. It depends on what I find and observe. I will only conjure up a firm plan of action once I have everything I need, information-wise that is."

"So what _have_ you found out so far?" Jack asked curiously.

"That things are far more complicated than the simple 'Wayne is a spoilt rotten, rich brat'," replied Pitch. "His mother is very doting and very well meaning, but this isn't what's made Wayne what he is. No, that's because of his father."

"His father?" said Rikki.

Pitch nodded. "He appears to be corrupting the boy. It is Lord Scott who's telling his son about Teal; that he's bad, and that he should be punished for simply _existing_ on this Earth. And despite Wayne's powers, I think he's afraid of his father. His mother is also afraid of him, so I've observed; whenever it looks like she's going to stand up to him, Lord Scott puts her back in her place."

"So all this is through no fault of Wayne's own, but because of adult influence?" asked Jack.

"Exactly," said Pitch. "Which makes things harder. Changing a child's view on things if it only comes from themselves is easy; however, we cannot control what an adult thinks and does, nor can we change it. All we _can_ do is encourage the child to stand up to the adult, which is easier said than done."

"Tell me about it; I'm trying to cross that bridge with my mum," said Rikki.

Jack placed a hand upon her shoulder and began to lead her back towards the door. "OK, you need to get back inside before you catch pneumonia."

"All right, Frostbite." She swatted his hand away and made for the door, but not without turning to look over her shoulder to say, "And if there's adult influence involved, I can talk to my dad about it. He's a reporter, but he's also an investigator, and from the sounds of things there's some form of abuse going on in that house. If Lord Scott can be removed, the influence he has over Wayne will be removed also."

"We'll be grateful." Jack smiled.

Rikki smiled back and turned to go in once more, but suddenly remembering something, she turned back to the two immortals again. "Oh, and Dad told me about his encounter with the Easter Bunny."

"And?" asked Jack.

Rikki smirked. "Well, one Easter he wanted to teach a bully a lesson for taking the other kids' eggs, so threw the prize egg into a tar pit. Depending on your view of things, the plan worked out either better or worse than he hoped it would."

* * *

Bunny tried to ignore Jack's laughter as best he could. "If I ever see Rowan Ritchi again, I'm gonna throw _him_ in a tar pit for blabbing!"

"Oh, I'm liking this guy already!" Jack continued laughing, ignoring the murderous glare Bunny was giving him. They were in North's workshop, and Bunny was surprised that Jack's arrival hadn't attracted the big guy's attention yet...and he hoped it stayed that way.

"I think I'll throw you _and_ Rikki in the tar pit as well," said Bunny. "That way no one else will know about it."

Jack tried to hold back further laughter. "Then you'll have to throw Pitch in there too, and good luck with that. I have to admit, I never knew the guy could laugh so hard." And his laughter started up again.

Bunny looked just about ready to clobber Jack, but North's appearance made him reconsider. The man only raised an eyebrow at Jack. "He found out about the tar pit incident?"

"Ho do _you_ know about that?!"

"We all know about it, Bunny," said North. "We never said anything so you could keep warrior pride."

"That same warrior pride which is now gone, as is this rabbit." He tapped his foot on the floor, before disappearing into the hole which opened and then closed behind him.

North turned his attention to Jack, who had finally calmed down. "So what brings you back here, Jack? Besides tormenting Bunny?"

Jack wiped away his tears of laughter. "Well, things...didn't go so well today. I found out the hard way why the other kids don't play with Teal; they're afraid of what Wayne would do to them if they did. The boy has them all under his thumb, and until that's sorted out I can't make any decent progress."

"So what about Pitch?" asked North. "What is his development?"

"I spoke to him before I came here," Jack replied. "He said there's adult influence involved; Wayne's father is telling him to do these things to Teal, and neither Wayne nor his mother can stand up to him. Rikki says she's going to get her dad to investigate, but I want to do something to help; I can't just stand back and watch."

"But you cannot control a situation born of adult influence." North sighed. "That is one problem us Guardians cannot help. We cannot control adults; all we can do is try and help the children stand up for themselves, which doesn't always end well."

"But Wayne can't see me, either. And neither can the other children. Heck, even _Teal_ can't see me!" He sat himself down by the window, leaning against it as the glass frosted up.

North sat down beside him. "Then do what you did with Jamie; _make_ them see you. Show them that you're there to help them, and as long as you are, there is nothing to be afraid of."

* * *

Jack flew over Metro City deep in thought. Over the three hundred years he'd spent as Jack Frost, he'd seen many types of adults; his memory of his parents was a fond one, and he remembered the founders of _Burgess_ as being heroic and strong. He'd seen good parents over the years...but he'd also seen bad ones.

Those who had too many kids in order to get money from the government and a nice house. Those who pushed their kids to do things they didn't want to do. Those who _beat_ their kids just for the heck of it. Those who spoilt their kids rotten and turned them into brats. Those who never disciplined their kids and let them run riot.

It made Jack wonder what the world was coming to, for this failure on the part of the parents made the job of the Guardians that much harder.

He stopped mid-thought when he passed by the Ritchi apartment and saw a heart-warming scene.

The boy landed on the windowsill of the bedroom and peered in, spying Roxanne – and by the way she was trembling, Jack guessed she'd experienced a Nightmare. He even saw a glimpse of Pitch in the corner of the room before the Boogeyman disappeared completely into the shadows.

Rowan was sat on the bed next to her, gently stroking her hair soothingly and assuring his daughter that she would see Teal again, no matter what her mother said. From behind the closed bedroom door, Jack could hear Rikki arguing with said mother.

Rowan then looked up towards the window, and his eyes met with Jack's. So used to being unseen by adults, Jack at first thought this was the case with the father...but as a small smile crept across the man's face, Jack remembered what Rikki had said before and realized that Rowan _could_ see him. Plain and clear. So he smiled back.

Sure, there were parents like Rhonda...but there were still parents like Rowan around, and that made it all worth while.


	8. Chapter Eight: Plans Made

Sorry for the wait. The first trailer for _Thor: The Dark World_ was released, and it was rather distracting. Apparently Loki's a fan of Slash. xD

Anywho, here's the next chapter. The first part might not make much sense to those who haven't read the books.

* * *

Pitch avoided the streams of dreamsand in the sky as he lurked through the shadows and hid under the bed of the bedroom he entered. He knew that Sandy had been informed of his assignment and wouldn't stop him, but Pitch still wanted to avoid any sort of meeting with the most senior – and most powerful – of the Guardians. What Sandy had done to him last time still made him shudder.

The Boogeyman crept out from under the bed of one Stacy Say; one of the children who had been playing with Teal and had shown fear towards Wayne.

After much thought on his course of action, Pitch had decided that it would be best to deal with the fears of the other children first; that way, they could find the courage to stand up to Wayne, causing the boy to hesitate and think more about his actions. Hesitation brought fear, and the boy would be at his most vulnerable; Pitch would be able to get through to him easier this way.

The procedure, though, was difficult. He had to craft up a Nightmare which would give the children fear of not what Wayne would do to them, but of what would happen if they didn't stand up to him. He needed to show them what Teal could become if no one stood up for him, which would hopefully scare them enough to overcome their fears of Wayne.

It also had to be done with a certain amount of fear; he couldn't traumatize them.

Pitch turned his attention to the little girl in bed, her jet black hair circling her smiling face as the dreamsand above her head showed her running through a field of butterflies. He found himself getting lost in the dream...until before his eyes, he saw another more familiar girl running through a field, butterflies taking to the air all around her as she hurried over to his outstretched arms in delight.

"_Daddy!"_

The Boogeyman was snapped out of his thoughts, rather literally, by a golden whip snapping into his line of vision. He turned towards the window and noticed Sandy hovering on his cloud of dreamsand outside; the little man gestured towards the dream above Stacy.

Turning back, Pitch saw that black sand was beginning to leak uncontrollably into the girl's dream, changing it into the memories he always tried so hard to forget. Stacy was beginning to toss and turn in her bed.

Quickly, Pitch called the black sand back and the girl settled down again, before he turned back to Sandy. The Sandman gestured towards the girl again with an impatient gesture.

"I know, I have a job to do," said Pitch, turning away again. "I was just...distracted." If he had chosen to look up at that moment, he would have noticed Sandy's look of sympathy for him before he vanished from the window to get back to his job.

Sighing, Pitch began to carefully craft the Nightmare, thus beginning his long nights of work ahead.

* * *

John Warden heard the gentle knock on his door which he had been expecting, and went to answer it before his wife heard and woke up from her restless sleep. She'd been worried about Teal all evening; they'd both been, after he'd arrived home in such a melancholy state.

He opened the door to reveal Rowan. "Hello, old friend."

"Good to see you, Rowan," said John with a smile. "Come on in, but be quiet. Andrea and Teal are both asleep." He stepped aside as Rowan passed him, heading straight into the kitchen.

Upon doing so, he noticed a small round sphere on the kitchen side which contained a piranha-like fish, which just so happened to be staring directing at him. "That's one odd pet you've got there," he commented.

"I'm not a pet!" the fish suddenly spoke up.

Rowan blinked in surprise and turned questioningly to John.

"That's Minion. He arrived here with Teal," said John.

The fish named Minion observed Rowan further. "You don't look as surprised as you should to see me," he stated.

"I've seen weirder things than a talking fish," replied Rowan. He then turned his attention back to John. "Is he always like this?"

"He's just protective of the boy. Can't blame him." John shrugged. "Speaking of which, you said you can help with that? How?"

"You know my daughter Rikki, right?" John nodded. "She's been in contact with a friend who's been investigating Lord Scott, and has found out that there may be some form of abuse going on. This could be why Wayne is picking on Teal; it's influence from his father."

"And who is this friend of you daughter?" asked John.

"He wished to remain anonymous," said Rowan. "But if I launch a legal investigation and get him arrested, then the problem between the two boys will be solved. I have the evidence I need to ask for the investigation to be launched; I just need your backup."

John didn't even hesitate. "I'm in. But even though this friend wishes to remain anonymous, he'll need some form of code name."

Rowan smirked. "Just refer to him as Jack Frost."

* * *

Jack was thankful that Rikki was including him in the investigation. He didn't like just sitting around and doing nothing.

A few nights had passed since the incident, and Jack had been spending his time helping Rikki sneak off with Roxanne to meet Teal, while Rhonda was either out or distracted. Then during the nights, he'd been helping with the investigation; being invisible helped him sneak into the Scott manor, gathering whatever evidence he could find since Pitch preferred to stay out of adult affairs.

His most recent assignment was to carry a tape recorder into the home and record a conversation between the family; Jack had the recorder in the pocket of his hoody, and gave it a tap. He only hoped it wouldn't freeze while in his possession.

The young Guardian arrived outside the manor, and using his staff he was able to pivot one of the windows open before slipping in, closing it behind him. He noted that he was upstairs, and began to follow the first voice he heard which led him to Wayne's bedroom. The boy was sat upon his bed with Lady Scott, who was reading him a story. They looked...peaceful.

Knowing there would be nothing worth recording there, Jack decided to go look for Lord Scott. He soon found him in the living room downstairs...and to his surprise, Rhonda was with him. Settling himself down in the room, Jack switched on the recorder.

"You arranged the play-date for today, and then you didn't show up," Lord Scott was saying. "I'm beginning to realize that you're doing nothing but waste my time."

"My eldest woke up early and got out with her," said Rhonda. She practically spat at the mention of Rikki, and Jack had to resist the urge to freeze the woman then and there. "I promise you, it won't happen again. You need Roxanne more than you know."

"Do I now?" Lord Scott raised a questioning eyebrow.

Rhonda smirked. "You want to turn that little blue freak into a villain, don't you?" At this Jack gasped, and was thankful that the two adults couldn't see nor hear him. "He's taken a liking to my Roxanne. Love is a lie which only the naïve believe in, and it's something which those who are above it can use against others. Love makes people evil, and when that freak sees Roxanne with your boy, his jealousy will grow until he explodes and attacks. Your son will bring him to justice, and will become a hero."

"I like the sound of that," said Lord Scott. "A hero always needs a girlfriend to save from the villain, and when your girl sees what a monster that boy is, she'll fall right into my son's arms."

"I said you needed her."

They were interrupted by a cold gust of window blowing the window open. Lord Scott hurried over and shut it, fastening it tight so it didn't happen again. Neither of them knew that the window hadn't opened by accident. And neither of them knew that their plan had been caught on tape by the one who had caused the supposed "accident".


	9. Chapter Nine: Wayne's Nightmare

Enjoy!

* * *

Pitch was pacing the roof of the Scott mansion, wondering whether he should give Wayne a Nightmare before or after the others stood up to him, when Jack suddenly appeared. He was panting for breath and his blue eyes were wide with shock.

"Frost?" the Boogeyman questioned. "What is it? Don't tell me you walked in on someone when they were naked."

Jack looked horrified by the thought. "Ew, no, gross. It's worse than that. Lord Scott and Roxanne's mother are working together, and... You know what? I'll just play the tape back."

He took out the tape recorder from his pocket and rewound it, before playing it back for Pitch to hear. The Nightmare King's expression remained calm throughout the recording, but Jack didn't think anything of this; Pitch was one to keep his emotions in check, most of the time anyway. When it was done, the Boogeyman looked away in thought.

"So it is all an elaborate plan to create a superhero and a supervillain, like in those 'comic books' children read," he said. "As much as I dislike Lord Scott for his behaviour, it is very well thought out, and up until this point, has been working rather well."

"We have to stop this before it gets out of hand." Jack ran a hand through his white hair. "Teal's done nothing but try and make friends, and this is what he gets in return?! It's cruel and out of order." He gave Pitch a firm look. "I don't care what stage you're at with your plan; you need to speed things up. We can't afford any more set backs."

Pitch looked thoughtful. "Well, I have already given the other children the Nightmares they need to stand up to Wayne. I was hoping to start with young Scott _after_ they had stood up to him, but I suppose it should make no difference if I start early. I'm not sure how many nights it will take."

"Just do it," said Jack. "I need to get this tape to Rikki's father; hopefully it should be enough to get those sorry-excuses-for-parents arrested. Good luck." And with that, he took off into the air and was gone within seconds.

Without a minute to lose, Pitch got to work. He sunk into the shadows and reappeared in Wayne's room, where he found the boy already fast asleep with a stream of dreamsand swirling above his head. The dream showed him playing a guitar while up on stage, and people clapping and cheering him on.

Pitch blinked in surprise. _So the boy doesn't even __want__ to be a superhero_. Curious, Pitch flicked some black sand into the dream to see what would happen. The sand infected the dream, turning it dark, and Pitch watched with interest as the crowd left booing, followed by Lord Scott arriving and breaking the guitar in half. This was then followed by Wayne trying to attack his father...but the Lord grabbed Wayne's mother and threatened her, causing the boy to back down.

The black sand was pulled away, and the dream of Wayne performing on stage reappeared. Pitch's thoughts ran over what had just happened; from what he could see, Wayne only wanted to play music...but his father won't let him, and Wayne's fear of his father – along with what would happen if he ever fought back – was preventing him from standing up to the man.

While figuring out what kind of Nightmare Wayne needed, Pitch looked back at the dream and noticed and odd sight. Wayne had been given a new, high-tech guitar...by Teal. When he started playing it, the crowd watching cheered louder and Wayne gave Teal a pat on the back as a 'thank you'.

Witnessing this, Pitch knew exactly what Nightmare to give Wayne.

* * *

Wayne was having the time of his life. The crowd were loving his music, all thanks to Teal, who had given him a new guitar. The boy had to admit that at first, he thought Teal had arrived to ruin it, just like his father had done before, but the blue boy had surprised him.

The super-powered boy always thought, deep down, that the blue boy was an OK kid. But his father always insisted that Teal was nothing of the sort...and adults were always right, weren't they?

But then, all of a sudden, the crowd started throwing things not at him, but at Teal. The boy started screaming in fright as he leapt to the stage floor and curled in a ball to protect himself. Before Wayne could do anything to help him, Lord Scott appeared and blocked the way, laughing like a maniac.

"That's right! Throw all you've got!" he yelled, encouraging the crowd. "Look at him! He's a monster! Treat him as one!"

Wayne looked at Teal again, realizing that the boy didn't look like a monster at all. Sure, he had blue skin and a big head...but he looked _terrified_. Monsters, Wayne knew, didn't feel fear.

Having enough, Wayne took to the air and flew over his father in an attempt to get to Teal and help him...but as he did, the scene changed and they were outside. But what was more, Wayne realized that he was a grown-up, and so was Teal. Both were wearing costumes, and while Wayne's was white with a large 'M' on the front, Teal's was black and covered in spikes.

Next to Teal was a large machine which had been wreaking havoc across the city, and on top of that was a tied up woman with brown hair and blue eyes who, upon closer inspection, Wayne realized was an older Roxanne. She looked both terrified and upset.

A crowd appeared and began to cheer, chanting the name 'Metro Man' which Wayne assumed was his superhero persona. They were thanking him for catching the monster, but as Wayne looked at the supposed villain who was now dangling in his hand, the hero realized that he looked...sad.

Teal then turned to Wayne, glaring at him with his bright green eyes. "You did this. I only wanted to help people and make friends. You took that from me. I had no choice but to accept my fate."

The scene changed again, and Wayne was in a church. He was dressed in a black tuxedo, and next to him, he recognized Roxanne standing in a white wedding dress. But she was crying.

"Roxanne, why are you crying?" Wayne asked.

She looked up at him before throwing her flowers in his face. "Because Teal was my best friend! I _loved_ him! And _you_ turned him into a bad guy! _You're_ the bad guy, not him!" And with that she ran over to the church window behind the vicar and smashed through it, falling to her death.

"Roxanne!" Wayne hurried over and looked out, but froze when he saw the scene before him.

Metro City had been reduced to ruins. The church vanished, and Wayne found himself standing in the centre of the devastation with Teal. Both both were injured, bruised and burnt, and Teal looked upset.

"I had no choice," said Teal. "They all _hated_ me. And it's because of _you_. Because you never gave me a chance. Because you ruined my life, _and_ Roxanne's. I had to ruin yours in return. You're no hero. What kind of hero can't even stand up for what's right against his own father?"

There was the sudden sound of a gunshot, and Teal suddenly fell lifelessly to the ground. Wayne hurried over and cradled the alien's body in his arms before looking up to see his father standing a few paces away, a smoking gun in his hand.

"Don't cry over him, my boy," said Lord Scott. "He was nothing but a monster. And no one mourns a monster."

Wayne's eyes snapped open and he bolted upright, only to discover that he was laying in bed and was still only a boy. He let out a sigh of relief. "It was only a Nightmare."

"Maybe. But unless you act now, that will become your future."

Wayne gasped and turned to see a man standing in the shadows. His skin was grey and he wore a black robe, matching the colour of his hair. His eyes were a sickly yellow.

Pitch smirked. Children could always see him after waking up from a Nightmare. It was fact.

It took a few moments for Wayne to pluck up the courage to speak. "What...what do you mean?"

"What I mean is," Pitch replied, "that unless you stand up to your father, you'll be responsible for ruining that little boy's life. He will keep on being pushed down by you and those following you until one day, he won't be able to take it anymore and he will have no choice but to accept the label you gave him. A tragic fate for one so full of life."

"But I can't stand up to my father," said Wayne. "I may be stronger than him, but if I try then he'll hurt my mother."

"Then protect her." Pitch turned and disappeared back into the shadows, but not before saying, "It's your choice either way, but remember, it's not your life at stake here."

Wayne was left alone with only his thoughts and the dark memories of the Nightmare he had experienced.


	10. Chapter Ten: Believe

Here's the next chapter. A big thank you to those who reviewed the last one. :)

Also, if there are any Marvel fans out there, could you check out my new _Avengers_ fic? It's called _Almost Home_.

* * *

After hours of working, Teal was finished with Minion's sphere. "There you are, Minion," said the boy. "And it's only...midnight. Er, oops."

"Your parents are asleep; what they don't know can't hurt them." Minion was swimming in a glass bowl of water, awaiting his small charge to be done with the sphere. "Now fill it up again; this thing's uncomfortable."

Teal obliged; he crept into the bathroom, filled the sphere up with water before creeping back into his room again. Placing the sphere next to the glass bowl, he helped Minion into his usual home and shut it again.

"There," said the boy, admiring his work. "Now that little heater I've installed should prevent the water from freezing over. You can come out and play with me!"

Minion smiled up at his friend...but then his eyes drifted towards the window, and his smile faded. "What the... That's the strangest human boy I've ever seen."

"What?" Teal turned around towards the window which Minion was staring at, but could see nothing. "Minion, there's no one there."

"Yes there is!" the fish protested. "He has white hair, he's wearing a blue hoody and has this weird stick thing in his hands. And he's wearing no shoes; his feet must be freezing!"

Teal looked again, but couldn't understand what Minion was getting at; there was simply no one there. "Minion, you must be seeing things. I'm absolutely positive that there's no one...there..."

He trailed off when the window froze up, and an image of a star was drawn into the frost by an invisible hand. Teal gasped and took a step back; his brain was hurting from how logically impossible this was.

"That was him!" said Minion. "He did that! And he just said that his name is Jack Frost."

"Jack Frost?" The name was familiar, and it took a few moments for Teal to remember that it was the expression his mother had used before, when he'd been going out to play. "You mean he's more than just an expression?"

"Apparently," said Minion. "And he's standing right in front of you. He says you just have to believe."

So Teal believed; he believed that there was a boy named Jack Frost, and that he was standing right in this very room. He trusted Minion's words, and when he looked up...there was the boy, stood before him in plain sight.

"You're...Jack Frost."

The boy nodded. "That's me."

Teal had no idea what to say or do. At first, anyway. "Why couldn't I see you before?"

"That's because you didn't believe in me," explained Jack. "Only those you believe can see me. Your fish could because all animals can." He smiled. "Roxanne can see me, too."

Teal's face brightened up at this. "Really?"

Jack nodded again. "Yes. And it's not just me; Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Sandman and the Tooth Fairy are the same. They're all real."

"Really?" Teal could barely believe what he was hearing. "But none of you should be scientifically possible!"

"Not all things have to be," said Jack. "Now get some sleep, and tomorrow...we're gonna have some fun."

* * *

Both Rikki and Roxanne didn't know what to say when they arrived at the park and found Jack having a snowball fight with Teal, along with a green fish rolling around in some kind of sphere.

"You got him to believe in you?" the elder sister observed.

Jack shrugged. "I thought the kid needed something to believe in."

"And who's that?" asked Roxanne, pointing at the fish.

Teal picked him up and showed him to Roxanne with pride. "This is Minion; he's been with me ever since I was born."

"Hello there, Roxanne," said Minion. "I've heard a lot about you."

Roxanne jumped a little from the shock. "He can talk?"

"Of course I can talk!" Minion rolled his eyes. "What made you think I couldn't?"

Instead of replying, Roxanne just laughed, and the others laughed along with her.

This laughter died, however, when the five of them spotted a large group of children approaching them. Rikki noticed that the group consisted of not only the children Teal tried to befriend before, but the members of Wayne's gang, as well. And all of them looked apologetic. She gave Jack a raised eyebrow, who only shrugged.

"I paid them all a visit last night." He then stepped forwards when they arrived. "Now, what do you all say?"

Tianna stepped forwards first. "We're sorry we ignored you."

"We were just afraid of what Wayne would do to us," said Terry.

"But we all had Nightmares about what would happen if we didn't stand up to him," Bernard added.

Rikki looked over at Jack, who confirmed what she thought with a nod; Pitch had been at work, and had done well.

"And we, like, should have known better than to, like, listen to Wayne," said Hal. "I mean, you're, like, really cool for having a big brain, and all. And, like, you can build all this cool stuff."

"If Wayne comes, we'll stand up for you," Stacy finished.

"Well, you kids might wanna get ready, then." Rikki pointed to the sky, where she'd spotted Wayne flying towards them.

The children immediately reacted; they all placed themselves firmly in front of Teal, all with determined expressions upon their faces. Jack got his staff at the ready while Rikki linked hands with Roxanne, who was holding Teal behind her.

But when Wayne landed...everyone was surprised to see that he looked just as apologetic as the others.

"Um...hey," he said sheepishly.

"What do you want, Wayne?" Roxanne demanded. "If you're here to pick on Teal, then you'll have to go through us first! And we're not brainwashed."

"You're right," said Wayne. The others looked even more surprised than they were before. "You're not brainwashed. If anything, _I_ was."

The other children just looked confused, and both Jack and Rikki exchanged glances. "What do you mean?" asked the older girl.

"My dad kept telling me that Teal was bad, and I believed him," Wayne explained. "Even though it was clear that you weren't." He gave Teal a look of apology. "I'm really sorry for being mean to you. I thought I was doing what was right, but I wasn't. And I hope I can make it up to you."

"Well," Tianna spoke up, "you can turn that frown upside down, for a start?"

"I've been trying to," said Wayne. "But no matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to-"

He was cut off when a snowball hit him in the face. All eyes were instantly on Jack, who was staring at the boy hopefully. A smile lit up his face when, unlike the last time, a blue mark appeared on Wayne's nose, which was followed by a bout of laughter.

Which stopped when he caught sight of Jack. "Hey, when did you get here?"

"I've been here all along," said Jack, happy to have another believer. "You've only just cared to see me. Now, who's up for a snowball fight?"

It wasn't long before snowballs were flying everywhere, Jack dodging between the kids as he used his powers to give them ammo. Jack didn't know how much time had passed when he noticed a familiar figure lingering in the shadows, and without hesitation, he left the game to greet him.

Pitch didn't sneer at Jack's arrival, but he didn't greet him, either. He just turned back to watch the game in silence, and Jack balanced himself on top of his staff as he watched, too.

"Not bad, Frost," the Boogeyman finally spoke, his eyes never leaving the game.

Jack turned to him; he knew a compliment when he heard one. "Not bad yourself, Pitch."


	11. Chapter Eleven: Adult Intervention

Thanks for the reviews, guys!

And about Roxanne's comment in this chapter, because I know people are going to ask... Kids her age tend to say things like that all the time with their best friends. They don't really understand at that age. It gets heartwarming when they grow up and it becomes a reality. :3 You'll see what I mean when you read the line.

Enjoy!

* * *

One of the many lessons Jack learnt from his father is that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. This lesson, however, he didn't learn until it was too late; his grandfather had fallen through thin ice and drowned, and Jack himself had met the same fate.

So when a car pulled up and out stepped Lord Scott and Rhonda Ritchi, Jack realized that he still yet needed to properly learn this lesson. This had happened before, and it hadn't ended well.

He soared away from Pitch and landed amongst the snowball fight. "Huddle! Now!"

When the other children saw the two adults walking towards them, they immediately formed a protective circle around not only Teal, but Roxanne as well. Rikki placed herself in front of the entire group for extra protection and Jack placed himself next to her, despite knowing that he probably wouldn't be able to do anything, anyway. Wayne then hovered in front of _them_ just as the adults stopped before them.

"Father, there's no need for alarm," Wayne boldly told his father. "I have everything under control."

"Really?" Lord Scott raised an eyebrow as his gaze settled upon Teal, who clutched Minion tightly to his person. "Then why are you not bringing that despicable villain to justice?"

Rikki's eyes lit up like a fire, causing Jack to take a step away from her out of shock. "_Despicable villain?!_ He's just a _child!_ He may look different, but that doesn't make him a monster! _You're_ the monster, you racist, bigoted _bastard!_"

And before anyone realized what was happening, Rikki crossed the gap separating them and punched Lord Scott so hard it sent him stumbling backwards several steps before falling into the snow.

Rhonda instantly grabbed Rikki's wrist to subdue her. "Rikki Ramona Ritchi, how could you _do_ that to such an important man?!"

"Because he's an abusive snob who only cares about his image! He's willing to ruin a kid's life to make himself look good!" her daughter yelled. She yanked her wrist back and looked ready to punch her own mother, but was able to gain control of her anger before she could.

Wayne hovered before his struggling father, not even bothering to help him up. "You've been lying to me all this time, Father. Teal is no villain. _You're_ the villain."

The other children spoke up in unison, saying all at once how much fun Teal was, and how clever. The little boy in the centre didn't know what to say; before, he'd been afraid of these children, but now they were sticking up for him, and he was overwhelmed by the lengths they were going through to keep the two adults from harming him.

Roxanne's voice spoke the loudest out of them all. "Teal is my very best friend in the world, and one day, I'm gonna marry him!"

Rikki's grin was the widest of all, Teal found himself blushing...while Rhonda looked absolutely horrified.

"I thought I raised you better than this, Roxanne!" she yelled. "You're coming home _right now-_"

"No, she's not," said Rikki, blocking the path between her mother and her younger sister. "And screw the fact that you're my mother; I'm doing this anyway." She hadn't even finished her statement as she pulled back her fist and sent it colliding with the woman's face.

Rhonda stumbled back and ended up falling over Lord Scott, who had been slowly pulling himself to his feet; this sent him toppling over again along with Rhonda.

Jack didn't know what to say. "Remind me not to get on you're bad side." He then used his powers to create a large snow-bank covering the two adults. "C'mon, kids! Let's go!"

He led them all towards a nearby alley, where the children collected all sorts of junk – old bits of wood, dustbin lids, plastic – and used them as sledges. Jack created a path of ice and led them through the city, and people leapt out the way of the laughing children who were travelling three to a home-made sledge (apart from the Rikki, Roxanne and Teal's, which also contained Minion). Wayne was soaring along next to Jack, laughing as hard as the Guardian of Fun.

"Jack, where are we going?" Rikki yelled about the laughter of the children.

"Don't know!" Jack called back. "Does anyone know any abandoned places?"

"I do!" Teal spoke up. "There's an abandoned factory in the old dockyard!"

* * *

John Warden wasn't sure whether he should comfort his wife...or remove every object within her reach which could be considered a weapon.

He and Rowan had just played back the evidence which had been recorded the night before, and John had pulled Andrea out of the kitchen in order to listen, too. The man was beginning to debate whether or not this was a good idea, taking into an account the partly upset, partly murderous look in her eyes. It was like she wanted to cry...but also wanted to tear Lord Scott inside out.

In all honesty, he wanted to do the same. He just had a better control over his emotions than she did.

"He better have good lawyers, because he's gonna need them after I'm done with him," she spat.

John refrained from rolling his eyes. "He's rich; he probably has the best in the country. But I doubt even _they_ would be able to defend him against these charges."

"I don't think he'd be able to bribe judges, either," said Rowan. "But just in case he could, I got a friend of mine to hack into the Lord's many bank accounts. Let's just say that _Make-A-Wish Foundation_ has suddenly received a very large anonymous donation."

John chuckled. "Just make sure your friend doesn't get caught."

"Please, he's never been caught in his life," Rowan scoffed. "And even if he did, do you think anyone would care?"

The older man shrugged in agreement. He knew a lot of judges and a lot of law enforcers who have all been _dying_ to get at Lord Scott.

The phone rang, and having calmed herself down, Andrea picked up. "Hello?" She listened for a minute, and her eyes grew wide. "WHAT? We'll be right there!" She put the phone down. "That was an officer; apparently Lord Scott and your _darling wife_," She aimed this at Rowan, "reported that Teal kidnapped a bunch of kids. They're tracking them now."

Rowan and John exchanged glances...before smirking. "Looks like it's time to make God bleed," said the former.

* * *

Rikki locked the doors of the abandoned factory before turning to Jack. "So why are we here? This isn't a very safe place for the kids."

"I wasn't sure what those two were gonna do, OK?" said Jack. "I just wanted to get Teal and the others away from them, and some-place abandoned is the best place to hide right now. Things can't get any worse than they are."

"They just did."

Everyone turned, and the kids immediately gasped and leapt behind the elder two at the sight of Pitch standing in the shadows.

Rikki rolled her eyes. "Great, who invited Slender Man?"

"Pitch, what are you doing here?" asked Jack.

"I'm here to tell you that Lord Scott and Mrs. Ritchi have contacted the police and reported that Teal," He nodded at the blue boy, "has kidnapped these children and is holding them hostage. They're on their way here."

Rikki gave Jack a sideways glare and slapped him upside the head. "Nice going, genius."

"I didn't know they'd do that!" He turned back to Pitch. "Are you gonna help, or are you just gonna stand there and look smug?"

Pitch rolled his eyes. "Help is on the way."

Moments after he said this, a huge hole appeared in the floor and out hopped...Bunny.

"Buckle up, kids."


	12. Chapter Twelve: A Promise

Here's the last chapter!

I'd like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has faved, alerted and reviewed this story! We _almost_ reached 100, but that could pass eventually!

This ending was inspired by the ending in _The Avengers_, and anyone who has the soundtrack will see why by the title of the chapter. ;) Enjoy!

* * *

"We have the place surrounded! Come out with your hands in the air!"

There was no reply. The police chief exchanged a sceptical glance with a fellow officer, who only shrugged.

"Just go in there and drag him out!" Lord Scott ordered.

"And hurry! My daughter's in there!" Rhonda added.

When there was still no reply from the inside, the chief nodded towards two other officers, who hurried over to the main doors of the abandoned factory. After hesitating, one kicked them open and hurried inside, followed closely by the second.

They cam out again, looking puzzled. "There's no one in here, chief. The place is deserted."

The chief's radio then buzzed. "_Chief, we found them._"

"What?" the chief replied. "Where are they?"

"_Playing in the park._"

The chief gave another one of his sceptical looks to both Lord Scott and Rhonda, who both rather suddenly looked a little more worried than before.

* * *

When the police arrived at the park, they realized there was nothing to worry about. The kids were having a snowball fight, and while the blue kid was among them, he looked just as innocent as the others, and none of the children were afraid of him.

"Well, aren't you going to investigate?" Lord Scott demanded.

The chief raised an eyebrow, and after silently signalling for two other officers to stay with the two parents, he approached the group. The children stopped playing when they noticed the chief approaching.

"Having fun, kids?" he asked.

There was a chorus of cheering and laughter.

"Is something wrong, officer?" asked the elder girl who was with him.

"I got called because those two," He nodded over to Lord Scott and Rhonda, "were worried about Little Boy Blue here." He gestured to the boy in question. "Is he all right?"

The elder girl didn't even have to reply, for the other children immediately jumped to his defence.

"Teal's great!"

"He's really clever!"

"He's my best friend in the whole world!"

"Don't take him to prison!"

The chief raised his hands in defence. "Don't worry, he's not in trouble. Just carry on." He left the kids to their game and walked back over to the other officers – and the two parents who were looking more worried than ever. "No problems at all."

"What?!" Rhonda yelled. "You're going to let those kids play with that _freak?_!"

"Ma'am, you do know that racist comments like that can be charged?" said the chief.

"And so can child abuse."

They turned to see John, Andrea and Rowan making their way over from where they'd parked their car. It was John who had spoken, and was giving both Lord Scott and Rhonda disapproving glares.

"We've been investigating these two for some time, officer," said Rowan. He held up a folder. "We have all the evidence right here; eye-witness accounts, tape recordings, and a confirmed statement from Lord Scott's wife. It's enough to lock them up for the rest of their lives."

Lord Scott and Rhonda immediately bolted, but the two officers by their sides were ready and grabbed them before they got far. Both were handcuffed and dragged over to the police cars, but not before they were stopped by Andrea.

"Since you two obvious make poor parents, you don't comprehend how angry I am. So I'll give you a hint." She pulled back her fist and punched Lord Scott in the face, and didn't pause before she did the same thing to Rhonda. "Try doing that to my son again, and I'll make you _wish_ for something as _sweet as pain_."

* * *

The entire scene was watched by the children, Jack and Rikki – and the other Guardians stood behind them, unseen by the adults. Pitch was there too, but hidden mostly in the shadows.

"It's official, Teal," said Rikki, turning to her sister's new best friend. "Your mum is _awesome_."

While John and Andrea talked to the police chief, Rowan made his way over. "Are you girls all right?" he asked his daughters.

"We're fine, Daddy," said Roxanne. "I'm just glad Teal's safe." She hugged her new friend, and the boy blushed.

"Dad, I know you said you were gonna tell me when I was older, but seriously, why did you marry that woman?" asked Rikki, gesturing over to where Rhonda was being forcibly placed in the back of a police car.

Rowan shrugged. "I really don't know." He then turned to Jack. "So, you're Jack Frost?"

Jack's eyes widened a little. Despite Rowan having seen him before, it didn't prevent the surprise. "Um...yeah?"

The man smiled and gave his shoulder a tap. "Good job, kid." He then smirked when he caught sight of the other Guardians – in particular, Bunny. "Hey, Bunny. Run into any more tar pits lately?"

Bunny groaned while everyone else tried to hide their snickers – apart from North, who didn't bother hiding his, and just let out a booming laugh.

"Time to go," the large man then announced. Bunny didn't waste time in summoning a tunnel and hopping into it, while North used his snow globe to open a portal home. "Merry Christmas!"

The kids laughed. "It's not even Christmas!" said Wayne.

"I know," said North. "And keep on Nice List, OK?" Wayne nodded.

"Don't forget to floss!" Tooth called over her shoulder before following North through the portal, and Sandy followed afterwards.

Before Jack left, Rikki gave him a friendly punch on the arm. "Thanks, Frostbite. Really."

"Just doing my job." He sent her a smirk before turning to follow his fellow Guardians into the portal.

"Jack!"

He turned...only to be attacked with a hug from Teal. "Hey, kiddo. What's wrong?"

"Don't go," said the boy. "You helped me make all these new friends. What if they leave me?"

"They won't," assured Jack. "And I won't be gone forever. I'll come visit."

Teal sniffed away the tear which had been forming in his eyes. "Really?"

"Of course he will, silly!" said Roxanne, coming to stand beside her friend with Minion in her arms.

"And he'll always protect you guys," Rikki added. "What he did here today; that was a statement."

"Not a statement," Jack corrected. "A promise."

Teal smiled and turned back to his friends, along with Roxanne and Rikki, before they began playing again. Jack smiled as he watched for a few moments, and as he turned to head into the portal, something caught his attention out of the corner of his eyes.

It was Pitch still watching in the shadows.

"Hey, Pitch," he called. "You coming?"

"I would rather not," said the Boogeyman. "Your Guardians are going to celebrate this small victory, and I'm not a "party" person."

"Whether you are or not, we couldn't have sorted this mess without your help," said Jack. "You deserve our gratitude."

Pitch stared at him, long and hard. "Are you going to keep pestering me about this until I go with you?"

"Yep."

The Boogeyman rolled his eyes. "Fine. But if North brings out the trumpets, the fireworks and a new pair of shoes with bells on them, I'm leaving."

Jack laughed. "I'll be leaving with you if that happens."

The two disappeared through the portal together.


End file.
